Losing and/or maintaining weight for those of us that are metabolically challenged is hard enough going solo, but trying to meet the nutritional needs of the rest of your family makes it even harder. But recently I discovered salad! Or shall I say rediscovered salad. I have always been one to enjoy the wild mixes of ingredients that restaurants call salad, but at home I was always a simpleton: Lettuce (not iceberg, at least), red onion, tomato, beets, maybe some chicken and tad bit of dressing tossed on. But my son needs to be eating everything and my husband wants it all but without saturated fat, so I decided to give them just that and put theirs over rice and mine on a salad. Last night, Curry Chicken with Peas. For Elliot, mixed with rice. For Dale, over rice with a side of Naan and yogurt sauce. For Me, over some greens with just a splash of creamy cilantro dressing and a couple of high-fiber tortillas to grab some tasty bites with. Brilliant! What will I think of next?

Labels: Eating, Flourishing, Thinking

Labels: Feeling, Green-ing, Thinking

I get tired of waking up at 6am,
Yet I never tire of watching my little man as we walk back to mommy's bed after getting his milk

I get tired of 'picking up'
Yet I never tire of finding the little treasures Elliot leaves behind, like a car at the bottom of his laundry basket or a truck in the tupperware drawer

I get tired of the long trek back and forth to school & work
Yet I never tire of listening to my bear talk about all the trains, planes and garbage trucks he wants to see along the way

I get tired of rushing to get dinner on the table
Yet I never tire of sitting, eating, talking with my dear husband and watching Elliot chew so deliberately

I get tired, but it's the good kind of tired...

Labels: Kid-ing, Thinking

There are two sure fire ways to Anglo-Americanize any ethnic food...a casserole or a salad! Seriously. I really can't think of any food more American then a casserole. Sure hamburger, hot dogs, apple pie, but that's what we want people to think. The truth is Americans love their casseroles and what better way to sample the fare of our neighbors then by way of a safe and comforting casserole. And in recent years salads have followed suit. Taco Casserole and Chinese Chicken Salad, enough said.

Labels: Eating, Thinking

Seriously. What was I saying? It feels like a lifetime ago that I sat and wrote anything. 2009 was a wild year. And I am pretty confident 2010 will be too! Like feels pretty great right now. We are settling into our new home, our new routines, our new community. It feels pretty darn good. I've missed writing the occasional post, sharing my thoughts and opinions...just not sure how to do it within the 2 waking hours that I am not at work or spending time with Elliot. I don't know how the rest of the blogging world does it...but, now that we are not packing, moving, living in a hotel, unpacking, surviving the holiday madness, I think I will find some more time. I am hoping that just writing this post with get me into the groove again.

Labels: Thinking

Recently we decided to take the plunge (second time around) and buy a house. We have a townhouse now, and it has served us well, but it's time to move on (maybe). We do need a wee bit more space on one level. We found a house but we lost it - oh well. There were a few needling things about it, so it was not meant to be. Of course, we still talk about it fondly. I digress. We decided to sell our home and now we live in a model home. Our Realtor came in and re-arranged our furniture, had us pack up our clutter, brought in some of their own accents, and now we live in a model home. In the morning we make sure our pajamas are neatly tucked away, our bed gets made (this used to never happen unless guests were coming over), close the lid to our toilets, put all dishes in the dishwasher, close every door to every closet, tuck all the toys away (poor Elliot has trouble finding anything), pull up the blinds, open the widows, etc., etc., etc. Essentially, pretend like you don't live here. I am starting to wish we didn't, yet it does look so good that sometimes we think about buying it.

Labels: Thinking

Did you have one as a child? I did. Maybe you have one now. I would get so excited when I would see the rapid-winged little guys outside fluttering away while sucking down some sugar H20. As I was browsing on Flickr, I came across this great photo of a hummingbird and a feeder. It brought back such fond memories (I think ours was just like this one!), so I decided I must have a feeder for myself to enjoy (Dale & Elliot can enjoy it too, of course!). So I 'did a Yahoo' (my attempt at supporting the company that helps to support my family) and could not believe how many hummingbird feeders there are out there for sale! Who knew there was such a market for these things?! Needless to say, I got overwhelmed by the choices and decided I would look into it another time.

Labels: Thinking